jeudi 27 octobre 2011

To the
student of the evolution of American and British yacht design, there is perhaps
no period more extraordinary than the latter half of the 19th century. To be
sure, there have been many exciting designs produced in this century, but their
evolution has been much more subtle, as designers seemed to create within
fundamentally common themes. They were not, for the most part, inventing whole
new forms, although they were certainly refining basic forms in exquisitely
delicate ways. As a field of study, the history of 20th century yacht design
deserves deep and focused research, but it cannot possibly be understood
without a complete comprehension of its foundations in 19th century design.

It is the two most intense decades of experimentation
and development in that period – 1870-1887 – that the authors of 1870-1887
American and British Yacht Designs have turned their attention, through
research, writing, and the creation of measured drawings. In fact, so focused
is their attention that I wondered, as I examined their work, whether we at
WoodenBoat would have been as determined to produce the book and magazine
material we have on early yacht design if these books had been in print in 1980
or '81. For these authors have provided readers with a fairly broad look at
some of the finest products of the period's naval architecture practices,
primarily through the fine drawings (labeled in English) of François Chevalier.
But of course we would have published. After all, our editorial mission has
always been to provide a broader context for appreciating the evolution of
yacht design during that and other periods. We were not always successful in
finding good–or any–plans drawings, however, and it is here that these books
surpass anything before them. For many yacht designers, and for historians who
understand the principles of naval architecture clearly, 1870-1887 American
and British Yacht Designs is a complete study, especially with the
narrative work (published in both French and English) of Jacques Taglang which
leads each chapter, and which accompanies each yacht's plans. Drawn from a
variety of sources, the text is necessarily brief and does not attempt to do
more than place the type or design in the context of the others in the
collection. Deeper understanding of individual yachts, or their place in time,
would require more thorough scholarship, and the reference notes and
bibliography offer an abundance of accessible resources. But this is not, I
think, designed to be an intellectual experience. Rather, it is an emotional
and romantic one, a celebration of the art and science of yacht design at the
very time when rule-of-thumb principles were being displaced by more scientific
ones. And many of the great examples are here. There are yachts included whose
hull lines I've never seen, including most of the schooners, from the majestic Ambassadress
to the lovely Gitana; a few sloops and cutters, notably A. Cary Smith's Priscilla
and Cinderella, and William Fife's exquisite Ulidia. There are
also many more for which no sail plans have ever been published. In these
respects, there is much that is new here; some truly historic events, and
certainly some drafting "firsts."

Among the most engaging of these for me are the hull
lines of Nathanael Herreshoff's steam yacht designs Stiletto and Now
Then. As most enthusiasts know, Mr. Herreshoff did not draw hull lines, but
carved models of his designs, from which offsets were taken to scale and
entered in so-called Offset Books, which were then referred to by loftsmen who
laid down the lines full size on the floor prior to building the molds. Because
of his ingenious methods, it's a virtual certainty that even Mr. Herreshoff
himself had never seen the lines of these yachts drawn out. But because most of
the original Offset Books and plans are available for research at the Hart
Nautical Collections of the MIT Museum, Mr. Chevalier was able to develop the
lines to scale with great fidelity, and the result is quite exciting. Other
yachts' lines were created by painstakingly measuring half models in the
extensive and impressive collections at the New York Yacht Club. (It's fair to
say that, without these collections, we would have practically no idea of what
the shapes of certain historic yachts were like, and it is fortunate that the
Club has seen fit to preserve its heritage.) Additional research was conducted
in the extensive Ships Plans collections of Mystic Seaport Museum, and each
plan drawing is attributed to its source. The only mystery to me is the sail
plan drawing of the cutter Madge, which is itself an exciting event.
While the hull lines have been well documented, preserved, and published, I
have never seen more than a small sketch of the original sail plan, and
certainly never seen a complete drawing as beautifully rendered as Mr.
Chevalier's. (The jib topsaill looks a little awkward in size and placement to
my eye, but I'm no yacht designer.)

The authors were inspired in this endeavor by a rare
and valuable book published in 1887 entitled American and English Yachts,
which featured fine yacht portraits by photographer Nathaniel Stebbins, brief
descriptions of the yachts – perhaps by Stebbins – and an essay on yachts and
yachting by Edward Burgess. There were no drawings. At the time, Mr. Burgess
had successfully designed three America's Cup defenders, and he was certainly
one of the heroes of the yachting world. Because he had so little time for
writing during his bright but brief career (cut short by a fatal illness in
1891), the essay affords a rare glimpse at his thinking. On the subject of his
winning designs Puritan and Mayflower in 1885/86, his comments
are particularly valuable. And, fortunately, the authors of 1870-1887
American and British Yacht Designs have chosen to include the Burgess
essay, which helps to provide perspective on the book's contents, as the
original had done. Interestingly enough, Burgess was resigned to the fact that,
in the future, all cruising boats would be powered by steam, and in time by
electricity. His hope remained that "we can at least continue the interest
in sailing matches, even if we cruise in machine propelled craft." The
whole idea of the auxiliary cruiser was yet to be developed. All of the yachts
originally featured in American and English Yachts are included in these
two new volumes, with 20 more yachts added to provide a broader view. Among the
most significant, perhaps, is the ill-fated centerboard schooner Mohawk,
which capsized in 1876 while preparing to get underway. Her anchor was hove
short and her sheets were fast when she was hit by two squalls and laid over on
her side. Her inside ballast shifted, as did some of the cabin furniture, and
she sank, with several people trapped below. Because the period covered saw the
intense pitting of shallow centerboarders ("skimming dishes") against
deep cutters ("lead mines"), resulting in the emergence in this country
of the "compromise" type, there are many examples of each type
included. Mohawk was an extreme example in the large centerboarder
category, and one look at her lines will show why she was so vulnerable. But
where Edward Burgess would never have included a failed yacht among his
selections, it is well for modern students to study such designs, lest we
forget. Neither would Burgess have included sandbaggers, of which there are
five splendid examples (including Annie, still preserved at Mystic
Seaport), but they also help us to understand the extremes. There are several
other yachts included that represent less extreme thinking, and which should be
included in any study of the period in question. Fanny, an 1874 sloop built
by D.O. Richmond of Mystic, is one, as is Schemer, whose model, like
that of Madge, will be familiar to longtime readers of WoodenBoat.
The yawls Florinda and Jullanar are included, and provide a
welcome look at fine examples of a rig little used in yachts during this
period.

As the authors note, there are a few plans omissions,
due simply to the fact that no information could be found with which to draw
them, but each of the examples is illustrated by some means, with a photograph
where possible. There are several photographs I had never seen before, although
I certainly should have. Perhaps the most ironic for me was the portrait of the
sloop Fanny. When we published in 1989 our Fiftieth Anniversary Edition
of W.P. Stephens's Traditions and Memories of American Yachting
(indisputably the single most important study of the history of American
yachting), we worked hard to find original photographs, or improved versions of
those initially used in the book, and in large part we succeeded. Since
Stephens himself had been forced to use a poor photo of Fanny in
attempting to illustrate her original single-headsail rig, I searched widely
but to no avail for a better one, and had to settle eventually for another –
taken after she had been fitted with double headsails. In reading through Mr.
Taglang's text on Fanny, I turned the page to see the very photo I had
been wishing to find – showing her large single jib. Greatly enlarged from a
rare, small Stebbins photo, it was perfect. Mr. Stephens and I had both completely
missed it. (It will be found in our next edition, and so, perhaps, might some
of Mr. Chevalier's drawings, if we can arrange it. They are that important.)

In all, there are 71 yachts
that make up the work, including 14 schooners, 6 catboats, 5 sandbaggers, 1
catamaran, 8 sloops, 17 cutters, 4 yawls, 9 compromise sloops, and 7 steam
yachts. Apart from the drawings themselves, which are beautiful, the authors
have taken great pains to reproduce the additional photos and illustrations as
faithfully as possible to the originals, utilizing a duotone process which adds
richness and depth to each page. My copies contain a few juxtaposed pages,
which I hope and presume was a single oddity in binding, but the production of
the books is library quality, with the same kind of fine paper and binding used
in Taglang and Chevalier's previous book, 1851-1986 America's Cup Yacht
Designs, published in 1987, and reviewed in WB No. 82. Like the latter
book, the trim size on these is 16½" × 12" (horizontal), which obviously
makes them unhandy for browsing in the lap. But the format is dictated by the
audiors' commitment to large-scale drawings, which any serious student
appreciates. Of course, such a commitment must come at a price, and the price
is no small matter. Yet for the serious, it may be an irresistible opportunity.
To the modeler of traditional yachts, it may be a necessity, for many of these
lines will be found nowhere else, and the story to be told in half or full
models is a powerful one. There is not, nor has there ever been, anything quite
like this book in the world. There have been large-format collections of
printed plans (Kunhardt's Small Yachts) and books of photographs
(Nathaniel Stebbins and Henry Peabody) from the period, and there is the
above-mentioned Stephens, which provides much of the information and more, but
in smaller format. There has never been such a focused combination of the two
in such an elaborate and enduring form. It is unquestionably a labor of love,
and for any owner, it will doubtless be an object of love. Yet, though it is
prohibitively priced for most of us, it deserves our attention and admiration,
and surely belongs in any serious maritime library.

It’s difficult to imagine a more beautiful setting for the celebration of the rebirth of the stunning classic yacht Runa IV than the Gulf of Morbihan on a sunny summer’s day. On May 31st, Louis Vuitton chairman and CEO Yves Carcelle – a man with an eye for the fine things in life - chose the magical Breton bay and its festival to mark the start of the lovely Gerhard Rønne-designed yawl, which first splashed on May 23rd 1918.

IS RUNA IV YOUR FIRST VINTAGE YACHT?

More than that: she’s my first boat! Every year I charter a sailing yacht for the family holiday but I’ve never owned any boats.

A dear friend of mine, the talented American sculptor Gregory Ryan, bought and restored a boat called Runa VII a few years ago in the States. I watched the restoration process from afar and learned about Gerhard Rønne and his Runas. Then two years ago, Gregory told me he’d found Runa IV in California...

WHAT DREW YOU TO HER?

Her line is magnificent and instantly moved me. But the idea of publicising her truly extraordinary story really thrilled me.

HAS THAT CHOICE SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR MAXIM THAT SMALL ACTIONS MAKE BIG DIFFERENCES?

The purchase was very simple: a phone call to the States. It was only later that I realised what kind of adventure I was letting myself in for.

RUNA IV IS A WORLD REMOVED FROM THE RACING YACHTS OF THE LOUIS VUITTON AND AMERICA’S CUP. ISN’T SHE AN ODD CHOICE IN A WAY?

Don’t forget that Louis Vuitton was the main sponsor of the Nioulargue for many years. So there’s no dissonance between tradition and modernity in that respect.

WHAT DID BRUNO TROUBLÉ (INVENTOR OF THE LOUIS VUITTON CUP, ED.’S NOTE) SAY ABOUT IT?

I followed Bruno Troublé’s advice. They’re all huge enthusiasts, obsessed with detail.

ARE THERE ANY PARALLELS BETWEEN THE SKILLS OF THE GUIP SHIPWRIGHTS AND LOUIS VUITTON’S CRAFTSPEOPLE?

Runa IV last June 2011 in Golfe du Morbihan

It’s fascinating to watch craftspeople at work, regardless of whether they’re master shipwrights or leather workers. They have the same dexterity, the same passion…

DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE ANY CLEAR CHOICES TO PRESERVE RUNA IV’S CLASSIC SPIRIT?

Yes, particularly the decision to restore her to her original yawl rig.

HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU SEE HER NOW?

Like I’m looking at a beautiful work of art.

YOU’RE ABOUT TO BUY RUNA VI, A 1927 DESIGN ALSO BY THE DANISH ARCHITECT GERHARD RØNNE. ARE YOU GOING TO CONTINUE THE COLLECTION?

I don’t know if I personally will restore Runa VI, but I’m very happy we found her again. Runa III and Runa V are still missing. I hope they’re still out there somewhere! Maybe one day we’ll be able to reunite all of Gerhard Rønne’s Runas. It would be a magnificent way of looking back at the history of the boats designed between 1903 and 1945.

YOU ARE TRAVELLING CONSTANTLY TO DEVELOP LOUIS VUITTON AND YOU LIKE TO SAY THAT YOU’LL SLEEP IN ANOTHER LIFE. ISN’T THIS NEW PASSION FOR CLASSIC YACHTS AN UNUSUAL WAY OF BRINGING YOUR DREAMS OF ESCAPE TO THE FORE?

We all need dreams. Even people, like ourselves, who don’t sleep very much.

jeudi 13 octobre 2011

The history of the America's Cup has enjoyed considerable attention in the nearly one-and-a-half centuries since the schooner America crossed the Atlantic to her most famous victory under sail. But, until now, there has been no thorough, comparative study of the evolution of Cup contender designs from the beginning to the current crop of 12-meter sloops. One reason has been the daunting challenge of the research involved and of integrating and interpreting the information. The descriptions and drawings were not lost; they were simply scattered, and often inconsistent with other pieces of information crucial to new drawings. The dilemma was distilling the information in such a way as to enhance the numerous plans drawings, which are truly the heart of this book. When authors Chevalier and Taglang decided to put the information together, they created the first French-language history of the Cup (the text is in both French and English), and they committed themselves to making it beautiful.

With her 10,042 sqft of sail area, 140-ton displacement, 117'7" LOA, and 22'4" beam, Valkyrie II proved to be very fast in the 1893 race. The George L. Watson design was defeated, however, by N. G. Herreshoff's Vigilant. Before Valkyrie II could challenge the Herreshoff yacht again, she was rammed and sank.

That they have succeeded in the latter is undeniable. This is fine bookmaking: good subject, good paper, good printing, good binding. And it should be, at this price. The book measures 17" × 12" and weighs a hefty 16 lbs. It's a book to savor. The printing is entirely black and white, except for the frontispiece, which is a lovely Watercolor by Marc Berthier ofAmericaandAustralia IIsailing side-by-side.

The passion of the authors for their subject is obvious, and their short prologues contain hints of their characters. Naval architect Chevalier's begins: "Draw me a boat, and I will tell you who you are." But what he gained from creating this book is revealed in his closing question: "What have I become for having redrawn and thereby taken for mine all these superb yachts? Enriched with their lines, it is time for me to go back to the drawing board and start again." For those of us moved by the richness of our maritime past, these are sweet words.

Writer/modelmaker Taglang's prologue reveals his own lessons: in particular, the process by which individuals of accomplishment become legends in time. His gift is to make note of the also-rans, the individuals who themselves toiled for the chance of defending or challenging. He knows well that generally only the winners become legends, but that all who participate play a role.

The narrative and descriptive text is, of necessity, somewhat limited in length, the text enhancing the drawings. The only drawback to this approach for the scholar is that it occasionally encourages incorrect inference. A case in point is the text on L. Francis Herreshoffs Whirlwind. A brief reference is made to the fact that LFH did not get along with his father, Nathanael. Nothing more is said about this, and it is easy to infer that this was a true and permanent state of affairs, which was not the case. It might have been more appropriate to note that the two saw things differently and did not collaborate. Once again, this book does not pretend to be a scholarly treatise. On the other hand, it is not superficial, and the chapter notes add considerably to the reader's understanding of events.

The plans themselves are beautifully drafted, and consist of lines and sail plans for all of the yachts covered. They are elegantly simple and informative. The sail plans are near perfect in their detail, and would make fine framed prints. The lines plans provide scales in both feet and meters, and M. Chevalier has added an interesting touch: in his layout of waterline and overall length scales, he has noted the lengths of overhangs, allowing some interesting quantitative comparisons. Most important, the plans drawings are all source-attributed, so that one may follow the draftsman's paths, if one desires.

Plans were drawn to nine different scales for the book, so that each group drawn provides for as large a plan as possible. The result is very agreeable throughout; it is perfectly natural to see the lines for the enormous Reliance filling the same space as those for Australia II. A few boats, unfortunately, are absent altogether, due to the unavailability of reliable information. The authors acknowledge this absence, and conclude correctly that it is better to have a few gaps than to include speculative drawings.

Each chapter covers a campaign, beginning with a narrative of events leading up to and through the races themselves, followed by the results of each of the races. Next is a group of plans, with descriptive text, for the defender and challenger and many of the yachts that also vied for the opportunity to challenge or defend. For each of these, sail plans and full lines are included, and, where possible, a small photograph or drawing of the designer as well.

This process works through 27 chapters (through the 1987 races in Australia) but although there is data on Stars & Stripes '87, and on Kookaburra III, the book unfortunately includes no plans for either of these. Plans for other candidates in this campaign are presented though, and it is very interesting to wind up the book with these modern machines.

An appendix contains additional technical data on all the boats in the book, as well as the formulae for the various measurement rules that dictated the design parameters over the years. There is a fine bibliography and an index. In the picky-picky department, the Conversion Table defines "knot" as one mile per hour, as opposed to one "nautical" mile per hour, and attentive readers will find a variety of misspellings throughout, but these are small matters.

Who will buy this book? Well, every serious student of yacht design will find the desire for it undeniable, and the need for it irresistible. One would spend long weeks and months finding the resources that would allow him or her to study this evolution at all, to say nothing of the convenience that the book's consistency of scale and line provides. Any library with an interest in things maritime would certainly do well to acquire it. But the audience who will undoubtedly go wild for it is the modelmakers, for here is an opportunity to devote one's life to the building of half- or full-models that represent 135 years of America's Cup racing. The absence of decks in plan view will slow them down, but the presence of structures in the profile will spur them on.

Charles E. Nicholson designed and built Shamrock IV for Sir Thomas Lipton's fourth Cup challenge in 1914. "The ugly duckling," as she was called by her designer, had long, flat, lopped-off ends and a sliding centerboard in her keel. When she was halfway across the Atlantic on the way to the races, World War I broke out, and she was put in drydock until the end of the war. When the match against N. G. Herreshoffs Resolute was finally held in 1920,Shamrock IV lost in spite of an early lead. Sir Thomas said he never wanted to see the boat again, and Shamrock IV's bronze hull was sold for scrap and her timbers cut up for firewood.

The price of this book is high, and there is no denying it. On the other hand, there is no denying its unique value. It is not for everyone, by any means. There is an endless number of books an impassioned student of history "wants", but for some, this could be the only book they'd ever need.